TLC
by kingsmeadroad
Summary: She's hurting. He so knows. The only thing she needs is a little Tender Loving Care...


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Criminal Minds related.**

**A/N: **A little bit of Morgan/Garcia.

**TLC**

Behavioural Analysis Unit, FBI. 2am.

He was driving her MAD. If he didn't depart the place of her supreme intelligence and leave her babies alone VERY soon, he would be IMPALED on one of her ultra cool pens!

"Morgan? Sweetness and light?" she said calmly, the vein in her head betraying her peaceful outward state. She could see him in the background, ambling around her room while she sifted through files on her computers, doing nothing but loitering, occasionally making small noises, "oohing" or" aahing" at this or that, stretching and cracking his knuckles, clicking pens or touching random things in her office.. It was driving her nuts.

"Yes mama?" he said, quietly and happily. She could almost feel the smile on his face, though she didn't turn around. Nor did she answer, in fact. It freaked him out a little, so he walked closer to where she sat and looked at her.

"Yo Mama? You want me to get you some coffee? Get out of your hair a while? I've been in here all day!" Then it hit him. "Oh, wait. I'm annoying you, aren't I?! That's the problem!" She said nothing temporarily, unsure of how to yell "YES!" at him without freaking him out.

"Garcia? Baby Girl, are you okay?" he said softly. She nodded her head, still with her eyes on the screen, her hair down today, flooding her shoulders with blonde tresses. Morgan had noticed how pretty her black hair band was, but he said nothing. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea. He wanted her to be happy, and with Kevin she was.

But there was definitely something up. "Hey, Baby Girl. Answer me or I'm gonna go hurt someone." He said, a little sterner, but nonetheless gentle and calm. Garcia, in turn, felt overrun by emotion. Her eyes welled up as she maintained focus on the screen, desperate above all else to not cry in front of him.

But Derek Morgan wasn't an idiot. He lived with three women whenever he was in Chicago, he knew what a girl was upset, and he knew when it was for a serious reason. He saw her tears coming over the rims of her eyes and he quickly edged closer to her, crossing the rest of the room in one step. He lowered onto his haunches and put his face as close to hers as he could, still allowing her room to breathe. His left hand reached up of its own accord to take hers from the keys of her famous keyboards. She said nothing, whereas normally that kind of move could get a person killed. He held her hand for a while, saying nothing, waiting for her to answer his worried look.

She was feeling really bad for the last few days and she'd never said anything about it. She always tried to keep work and her private life separate. But there were some things that just weren't to be kept secret. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble, and right then she noticed his piercing eyes looking right at her. She tried to stop the tears, but it was too late and with a cruel sigh, she exhaled into sobbing.

Morgan eased her into a hug straight away, pulling her from her seat into his arms. She said nothing about any moment of discomfort she may have felt, she just clutched him as close to her as possible, crying all the while, tears streaming down her face, ruining her makeup.

"Derek... He... He left!" she called softly into his chest. He knew instantly what she was talking about, and he hugged her tighter still, kissing her hair and forehead, trying to think of something to say. This wasn't exactly his forte! "Penelope, I'm so sorry.." he said quietly into her ear. He started whispering to her, nothing major, small noises meant to calm children down, and he kept stroking her arm and back, keeping her warm and comfortable, squeezing her gently every now and again.

It took some time for her to calm down fully. When she felt more in control, she just kept her head on his chest and tried not to think about things too much. This was where she always felt safest. She had felt such relief when she had found Kevin. It meant she could stop wishing Derek would love her. The last thing she had expected was for her to miss Kevin so much when he left. It had been four days without any information, any phone call, email, text message. Garcia missed the warmth of her nights and the love she felt when he had been there.

Of course, the job had begun to take its toll on both of them. She knew that. She knew it wouldn't really be a long term solution to her loneliness. She KNEW that, but it didn't seem to make any difference to her now. She suddenly felt warm and safe, and oddly content, something she hadn't felt for quite some weeks. She smiled sheepishly when she opened her eyes to see the tear streaks on Morgan's shirt. She was hoarse when she apologised to him. "Sorry Derek... Didn't mean to... to ruin your shirt..." Morgan said nothing, just held her for a while longer, feeling the discomfort of the desk pushing into his desk, but he never moved either. "It doesn't matter Baby Girl. Just as long as you're feeling a little better, that's what counts to me."

He wanted to go further, to ask why Kevin had left or when? What he had said before he went or had he come back at all, and why Garcia hadn't said anything about it to him. But it wasn't the time or the place. It was late. Almost everyone else had gone home, and Derek would have been happy to sit there with her all night. But he knew that couldn't happen. "Come on Pen, I'm gonna take you home. And I'm gonna stay there with you until you feel happier."

She didn't argue the toss that she was MORE than capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much. She just felt so happy that he was there. He got to his feet, helping her up along the way. He hugged her again, allowed her to shut down "her babies" and then took her by the hand and led her outside, flicking off the lights as he went. He stopped briefly at his cubicle to grab his coat and car keys, and then he drove her home.

The streets were deserted, there were no cars around, and the drive was made mostly in silence. When they were almost at Penelope's house, she leaned across the seat and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Derek."

"No problem Pen."

Sometimes you just need some TLC, he thought softly. He kissed her forehead once more.

"No problem Baby Girl."


End file.
